COMMENTARY
A recipe for fighting the Party of No
I imagine President Obama is kicking himself for not working harder in the 2008 election so that his party could have won majorities in both houses of Congress.By Donald Kaul , March 20, 2010
Romney’s new book gives him a head start
Given the Republican Party’s tendency to pick “the next guy in line” as its presidential nominee, it’s no accident that the front-runners for the 2012 nomination are familiar faces from 2008 — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.By Morton Kondracke , March 20, 2010
Did America’s founders want government small?
The pillars of American conservative thought and action — top officials from over a dozen national groups — assembled along the Potomac last month. At Northern Virginia’s historic Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, these luminaries met to “recommit” themselves to the one ideal they believe all conservatives can share. That ideal: small government.By Sam Pizzagati , March 19, 2010
Third option to health care cuts: Reform
Not long ago, five of Minnesota’s largest foundations partnered with Public Strategies Group, a Minnesota company nationally recognized for developing creative solu-tions to public problems, to compile a collection of ideas that offer promise for Minnesota’s future.By Laura Brod , March 19, 2010
A Republican leader’s plan for economy
Those who say that Republican Congress critters are just a gaggle of naysaying boneheads with no economic plan of their own haven’t been listening to Rep. John Linder, R-Ga.By Jim Hightower , March 19, 2010
Agriculture frames large part of state economy
Too often, the only times our non-farm neighbors hear about agriculture is when there is economic crisis on the farm, or when some interest group objects to some agricultural practice. The end result, I fear, is that too many people develop the idea that 21st century farmers are helpless victims and/or heartless villains.By Gene Hugoson , March 17, 2010
Public servants must know their place
“Government is the servant of the people, and not the master of them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.”By Dan Radmacher , March 17, 2010
Girl Scout politics less than sweet
I’ve seen more than a few boxes of Do-Si-Dos and Samoas around lately. It’s hard to look askance at the Girl Scouts when there’s so much sweetness in the air. But there is reason for keeping the Girl Scouts out of the “mom and apple pie” category. For one thing, the organization has a think tank, a nongovernmental organization and a welcome mat out to Planned Parenthood.By Katherine Lopez , March 16, 2010
The last thing we need
An executive for the Sierra Nevada Corp., a defense contractor based in Nevada, wanted to know why he should contribute $20,000 to Rep. Peter Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat. A colleague replied that Sierra Nevada was working with PMA, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, to curry favor with Visclosky, a key member of the subcommittee that funded defense projects.By Cokie & Steven V. Roberts , March 16, 2010
Minnesota should consider nuclear power
With interest in such a great diversity of potential energy sources from solar to wind and biofuels like ethanol and biomass, it would seem that states like Minnesota, which recently mandated that by 2025 a quarter of the state’s electricity be generated by renewable sources, would at least allow one more option to be brought to the table for discussion, especially when that option has been successfully powering 60 other countries for years and is making great strides in efficiency.By Amy Koch , March 14, 2010
Lawrence fought to correct American Indian abuse
It was in the early 1990s and I was involved in city politics in Minneapolis. Earlier, I moved from a small township in north central North Dakota almost a decade before — to search for a new life away from the reservation.By Delvin Cree , March 14, 2010
Toyota, Japan’s General Motors too big to fail
When I was a lad, growing up in the shadow of the Ford Rouge plant in Detroit, Japan was known for the manufacture of junky products — cheap knickknacks and toys that broke in your hand.By Donald Kaul , March 13, 2010
Congress, Obama can score big success on school reform
Congress has a chance — a narrowing one, given the calendar — to prove it can do something important on a bipartisan basis: recommit the country to school reform.By Morton Kondracke , March 13, 2010
Participation in 2010 Census is essential
Ten questions that can be completed in 10 minutes — the U.S. Census doesn’t sound like much but its importance can’t be overstated: In 2008, the last year for which data is available, Minnesota received more than $7 billion based on the decennial headcount, accounting for a fifth of the state’s annual revenue.By Niel Ritchie , March 12, 2010
Prisons: Public versus private
As the state grapples with a budget deficit the size of the Grand Canyon this session, lawmakers are charged with filling the gapping hole and creating a balanced budget. Proposed “money-saving” ideas run the gamut from removing bottled water from state agencies to mandatory furloughs. However, one proposal, that recurs nearly every session, creates a stir that almost no other issue can. Privately run prisons.By Emily Skidmore Nesse , March 12, 2010
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